Nissan Recall To Affect Nearly One Million Vehicles

Nissan is recalling nearly one million vehicles manufactured from 2012 to 2014, due to failure of airbag deployment in the front passenger seat, according to a report from the automaker that was posted on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The report states, “Due to the sensitivity of the [Occupant Classification System] software calibration, in some of the affected vehicles, and in certain rare instances, the Occupant Classification System (OCS) algorithm may not properly classify an adult passenger front seat occupant.”

“More specifically, a combination of factors such as high engine vibration at idle when the seat is initially empty and then becomes occupied, or unusual seating postures immediately upon being seated may cause the OCS to classify an occupied passenger seat as empty.”

The report goes on to state that “if the OCS classifies the passenger seat as empty, the OCS is designed to suppress the deployment of the passenger air bag, and the passenger air bag status light does not illuminate. Accordingly, if the classification is not corrected, there may be no warning that the air bag may not deploy in a crash where it is designed to deploy, potentially increasing the risk of injury to the front passenger seat occupant.”

The report also contains a description of the chronology of events of the Nissan’s investigation into the OCS defect, including investigating customer complaints and regular communication with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In April 2013, 82,038 2013-model vehicles from the same group were recalled because a sensor was improperly manufactured and might keep the passenger-side airbag from working in a crash.